The Dragon Child
by EchoGirl319
Summary: The dragon children were thought to have died years ago out with their mythical counterparts, but now Kescandria has been sent by the Great Dragon to help guide and help Merlin in the castle right under Uther's nose. NOT Merlin/OC. Some A/G. Set Season 3.
1. The Dream

**Echo: So, hi! This is my first ever Merlin fic so I hope it goes well. This idea just popped into my head and wouldn't go away.**

**Goldfish: It wouldn't, she was being incredibly annoying going on about it the way she was.**

**Echo: Whatever. Anyway, I should probably just give some background details for the story. It's set in Season 3 and begins about a week after the events of the Crystal Cave so Merlin, Morgana and Gaius all know about Morgana's paternity. Again, this is not a Merlin/OC story but there will be some Arthur/Gwen and possibly, just possibly a tiny bit of Merlin/Morgana depending on how I feel.**

**Goldfish: Do people really have to know all this?**

**Echo: Yes, they do. Now, I hope you all enjoy!**

**Goldfish: Uh-huh.**

**Echo: Wait! Where's my disclaimer? Goldfish!**

**Goldfish: What?**

**Echo: Where's my disclaimer?**

**Goldfish: You want me to do it?**

**Echo: Yes!**

**Goldfish: Fine. EchoGirl319 does not own Merlin, it belongs to the BBC. Happy?**

**Echo: Ecstatic.

* * *

**

**The Dragon Child**

**Chapter 1**

**~ The Dream ~**

Merlin was dreaming, that he was certain of. It was strange though; he rarely dreamed anymore, he was always so exhausted from the work that was piled onto him by Arthur and Gaius both (not to mention that he was saving someone's life every other day, namely Arthur's).

Glancing around he realised where he was: the meadow where he met with the great dragon. Why would he dream of this place? He hoped he wasn't being visited in his dreams by some magical being who was either babbling on about his destiny or wanted to kill him. It had only been a week since he had almost killed Morgana and really all he wanted was a break. Then a voice echoed in his head.

_Merlin._

_Oh no, _he thought. A moment's peace seemed impossible for him to attain, even in his dreams.

_Merlin, _the voice persisted.

The strange thing was that he didn't recognise the voice. He hadn't heard it before in his life. It was soft and high-pitched, definitely female. It sounded young too.

_Who are you? Where are you? _He asked mentally, wary of whoever it was that had invaded his dreams, as he was almost certain that that's what they had done. He heard a scoff from somewhere in the meadow.

"I'm over here, numbskull! For a great sorcerer you're not very observant, are you?"

Deciding to ignore the dig at him, Merlin's eyes scanned the meadow and, sure enough, there right in the centre, surrounded by the tall, green grass was a head of long golden hair. Cautiously he approached, fearful that she might reveal herself to be a certain blonde sorceress Morgana was friendly with.

On closer inspection though, it was easy to see that it was not Morgause who sat beckoning him towards her. Her hair was too dark, her face too pale. The thing that really took him by surprise though was her age, she could only be around fourteen or fifteen. Slowly he came to a halt a few feet away from her. Still she did not look at him.

"Sit," she said, indicated the ground beside her. Hesitantly Merlin did so.

"Who are you?" he repeated his earlier question. At last she raised her head to look at him.

Her skin was unnaturally pale, almost sickly so, as if she had not seen daylight in years. As she remained silent he noticed how thin she was, frail looking, her face was gaunt and her cheekbone prominent. Her hair was long and tangled like she had not put a brush or scissors to it for a long time. It was her eyes, however, that really caught his attention. They were doe-like and too big for her face (though he was sure that was just due to her skinniness) but they were a bright, luminous, almost glowing gold. It was like there was a fire burning in them; they were the colour his eyes turned when he performed magic.

"Who are you?" he asked again. "Why are your eyes like that?"

"My name is Kescandria," the girl replied, folding her hands in her lap, "my eyes were like this when I was born."

There was no way this girl wasn't a sorcerer. No normal person was born like that, not with those eyes.

"I'm Merlin," he told her, offering a lopsided smile that didn't reach his eyes. What he really wanted to ask was what she was and what she was doing in his dreams.

In response Kescandria rolled her eyes. "I know that. I was calling your name from across the meadow, wasn't I?"

"What do you want?" he asked seriously. "If you want to hurt–"

Kescandria held up a single, bony, white hand, effectively cutting him off. It was because of this gesture that Merlin noticed the black dragon tattoo that ran the length of her forearm.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," she told him. "I'm here with a message."

"What message? From who?"

"You healed the witch," was all she said and instantly Merlin understood.

"The dragon," he realised, "you're here because of the dragon."

She nodded and Merlin snorted.

"Couldn't he just have gotten into my head like he usually does and drag me out of bed? Look, I know maybe I was wrong to order the dragon but I did what I thought was right. I never wanted Morgana to die–"

"I'm not here about that," the girl interrupted, "what's done is done and there's nothing that can be done about it regardless of what evil the witch will do now." _Great, this girl has the dragon's vocabulary. _"Look, just get out of bed and come to this meadow."

Merlin's jaw dropped.

"I thought that was the whole point of you coming into my dream! So that I wouldn't have to that meadow! Do you have any idea how cold it is this time of year?"

She raised a single dark gold eyebrow, _too bad _her expression said. Pursing her lips she reached over and touched the centre of his forehead with a long, bony finger.

"Time to wake up now."

* * *

Merlin woke with a start, his blue eyes shooting open. Warily, he glanced around the dark room. It was still nighttime. At once his dream return to him. He raised his head slightly, his eyes flitting over to the window where the full moon shone brightly in the sky, groaned and slammed his head back down against the pillow. This could not be happening.

The girl – Kescandria or whatever her name was – had told him to come to the meadow. That meant only one thing, the dragon wanted to speak to him. Why now? Couldn't he just have had Kescandria pass the message along? How did she and the dragon know each other anyway?

Grunting irritably, Merlin forced himself to get out of bed. Ignoring the dragon would only cause more problems later on; powerful mythical beast didn't like to be ignored. So, disorientated, annoyed and half-asleep, the powerful young warlock made his way out of his room, sneaking past Gaius before leaving the castle and sneaking past the guards and making his way into the forest.

The dragon was already in the meadow waiting for him. That was first.

"Ugh, what is it?" Merlin yawned, irritated beyond belief, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"You are not happy with me, young warlock?" the great dragon questioned, his fiery gold eyes shining with amusement.

"You dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. Why would I not be happy?"

"There is someone I'd like you to meet."

The girl from his dream emerged from behind one of the dragon's legs, her eyes bright gold and her hair knotted and untamed. She was wearing a sleeveless tattered, filthy white dress with two long slits up either side of the skirt to allow easy movement but revealed her stick-like, mud-encrusted legs. She was barefoot.

"Kescandria!" he exclaimed. He had not been sure if she had even existed or if the dragon had simply created her to give him that useless message. It was strange though, seeing her with dragon, he was not under the impression that Kilgarrah mingled with humans. Then again, Kescandria didn't really seem all human.

He could not see her facial expression due to the looming shadow of the dragon but he was positive that her lips had twitched upwards at his exclamation.

"Hello, Merlin," was all she said.

Then, looking between Kilgarrah and Kescandria, he made the connection. That was where he'd seen her unnatural, magical eyes before. The dragon had them too. What did this mean?

"She is to assist and guide you, young warlock," the great dragon announced.

"_Guide me?" _Merlin echoed. How was this girl suppose to _assist and guide _him? She looked like one good blast of wind would finish her off.

"Don't underestimate me, warlock," Kescandria snapped from her place by the dragon. Merlin's eyes widened and he jumped backwards instinctively. Had she just read his mind?

The dragon chuckled, much to Merlin's annoyance but then grew serious.

"She is the last of her kind as I am the last of mine. Do not let Uther discover her," the dragon warned. Merlin nodded solemnly. He didn't know what this girl was or what her connection to the dragon was but he wasn't going to let Uther drive another race to extinction.

"I won't, I promise."

"Good." The dragon spread its wings.

"Kilgarrah, must we part?" Kescandria asked softly but Merlin heard the desperation in her tone, like a child begging a parent not to leave them all alone.

"Yes, we must," the dragon told her, his deep, harsh voice unusually gentle. Then he turned his head to Merlin. "As a dragon lord you are my brother by soul but as a dragon child she is my daughter. Protect her, Merlin."

Merlin nodded, not quite comprehending what the dragon was saying. Kescandria was a dragon child? What was a dragon child? Perhaps Gaius knew… Before he realised what was going on the dragon was rising into the air and flying away, leaving Merlin and Kescandria facing each other. The latter's face was pained and her mouth was sealed in a tight line, as if she were doing her best to hold back tears. Merlin could offer her no comfort, her was still too confused over the recent turn of events. Dragon child?

At last he put the thought at the back of his mind and glanced over a Kescandria who had moved closer to him. She seemed more composed now. His blue eyes met her gold one's and she folded her arms.

"So?" she asked, "are we leaving or are you planning to stay in this meadow all night and freeze to death?"

* * *

**Echo: So? Any good? Like I said, this is my first Merlin fic and so I'd really appreciate some feedback.**

**Goldfish: Just review. Or die.**

**Echo: Goldfish, what have I told you about threatening people?**

**Goldfish: I'm not supposed to. But review anyway.**

**Echo: Yes, please do!**


	2. Kescandria

**Echo: Chapter 2 is up! Hope you enjoy.**

**Goldfish: Again, Merlin belongs to the BBC not EchoGirl319.**

**Echo: Exactly. What a shame.**

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**The Dragon Child**

**Chapter 2**

**~ Kescandria ~**

The first thought Merlin had when he woke up in his own bed in his own tip of a room in Gaius' quarters was that last night had all been a dream. A rather strange, somewhat puzzling dream but a dream nonetheless. At least that was what he hoped.

His wishful thinking, however, was dashed when he noticed the puddle of tangled golden hair and the tiny figure curled up, snoring lightly, in the corner of the room. He was tempted to bang his head against a wall. Why, of all people, did this sort of thing always happen to him? Gaius was not going to be happy.

He grumbled as he pushed himself up into a sitting position and swung his legs over the side of the bed. That was a good point. What was Gaius going to say when he discovered that Merlin was playing host to a – what was it? Dragon child? What exactly _was _a dragon child?

"That, evidently," he muttered as a snort sounded from the corner of the room where the girl was sleeping. She really was filthy, Merlin noted. There was a trail of muddy footprints leading all the way over to the spot where she now lay. Just fabulous. More work for him; it wasn't like Gaius was going to do it.

As if on cue, the court physician's voice echoed from the other room.

"Merlin! What are these footprints? You haven't been sleepwalking again, have you?"

_Well, _Merlin thought with a sigh as he stood up and made his way over to the door, _there's no time like the present. I just hope he takes it okay…_

"Ah! Merlin," Gaius greeted as the young sorcerer entered. He straightened from where he stood, examining one of the footprints by the table they normally ate at.

"Morning," Merlin responded.

"Whose footprints are these, Merlin? They're far too small to be yours."

"Uh, Gaius…" Merlin began nervously.

"What?" the old physician asked.

"What do you know about dragon children?"

"Dragon children?" Gaius repeated, "well… why do you want to know?"

Merlin shrugged unconvincingly. "Just curious."

"Well, they're ancient the dragon children," Gaius said, sitting down, "almost as old as the dragons themselves. They are believed to be dragons born with the bodies of humans. They were very powerful, Merlin, and lived for thousands of years."

Merlin frowned as he also sat down. "Dragons," Gaius nodded, "born as humans. How does that work?"

The much older man shrugged. "It's magic, Merlin, no one knows."

"Is there anything else?" Merlin persisted. "Anything about how they lived? Are there any ways that you can tell if someone's a dragon child?"

"Well, I personally have never seen one before but they are said to have the eyes of a dragon and they carry a mark of their guardian dragon somewhere on their body."

"Guardian dragon?"

"For each dragon there was a dragon child. At some point in their lives each dragon was guardian to one; they raised them, like a parent would." Gaius was confused. "Merlin, why are you asking me this?"

Merlin drew a breath and inhaled deeply before asking: "are there any dragon children still alive?"

"I don't believe so. Uther killed any dragon children when he killed the dragons."

The dark-haired young man sighed at the mention of Uther driving another species to the brink of extinction. At last he turned his gaze to Gaius.

"I have to show you something."

Merlin stood up and walked over to the door leading to his room and pushed it open. He entered and Gaius followed obligingly, albeit more than a little confused. When he noticed Kescandria, curled up under her thick, dirty hair in the corner, he was across the room in an instant, his eyes wide and disbelieving.

"I don't _believe _it!" he exclaimed quietly when he caught sight of the black tattoo on her exposed arm, "is that what I think it is?"

Merlin nodded solemnly.

"Where did you find her? They're supposed to be dead. All of them."

"She was with the great dragon. He wanted her to go with me. To guide me or something."

"The great dragon?" Gaius repeated and Merlin nodded. "Well, I suppose Kilgarrah must have been a guardian at some point but why wanted she executed? Uther hated and feared the dragon children as much as he did the dragons themselves."

"I don't know."

"Don't you know its rude to talk about people behind their backs?" a muffled voice sounded from beneath them. Both physician and sorcerer leapt back in surprise. After a moment Kescandria's pale, gaunt face emerged from behind her mask of dark golden hair. The physician let out an almost inaudible gasp at the sight of her massive, doe-like golden eyes. After a second of glaring at them, the girl sat up and stretched her stick-like arms out in front of her.

"As for your earlier question," her topaz gaze flitted towards Gaius, "Uther doesn't know I exist. I went with Kilgarrah when Balinor – yes, your father, Merlin – summoned him summoned him to the castle. I was disguised to appear as scales on his back and, once Uther sentenced us, I dared not reveal myself. Balinor had sworn not to mention my presence to the king so, as a result, I spent twenty-two years in that cave." Idly, she examined her bony hands and spindly fingers. "I don't think it really did me much good."

Merlin was shocked. She had spent twenty-two years under the castle as well? So it wasn't only his own freedom the dragon had bargained for… Then another thought struck him.

"How could you have spent twenty-two imprisoned? You're not even twenty yet!"

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly. I'm a _dragon child, _warlock. We age slowly. I'm really over a hundred."

Oh yeah. Gaius had mentioned that. Through the corner of his eye, Merlin dared a glance at the white-haired man. He was frowning.

"Why exactly are you here?" his question was directed at Kescandria and the girl pointed at Merlin.

"I'm supposed to help him. With his destiny. And maybe annoy the witch a bit – just for fun."

At her words Merlin was instantly reminded of the goblin wreaking havoc across Camelot with his pranks. He did not want another re-enactment of that.

"And you expect to stay here? Right under Uther's nose? He'll have you executed if he finds out what you are."

Kescandria shrugged. "I'm at the same risk as Merlin. If he can do it so can I?"

"Yes, but I'm actually human," Merlin piped. Kescandria shot him a dirty look.

"And I have a human body," she snapped, "it doesn't make a difference whether I'm human on the inside or not, just on the outside."

"How do you expect to me to explain this? I can't just take on another ward; I already have Merlin."

"Not to mention your eyes," Merlin added, "they're definitely not human or even natural. Uther may be a bit dim sometimes and execute all the wrong people but your eyes are unmistakably magical."

"Well then," Kescandria said as she got to her feet and walked towards the bed. She jumped onto it and the young sorcerer winced at the sound of created wood. She gestured for Merlin to come towards her. "Closer," she demanded, beckoning him until they were almost nose to nose. "Let's kill to birds with one stone."

It strange what happened next. He didn't know that magic could be used to change one's eye colour. For all the shape-shifting magic he had ever seen the sorcerers in disguise had never changed their eyes so he watched fascinated as Kescandria's eyes grew darker and dimmer until they were mysterious dark blue. His eyes.

She leapt off the bed once the transformation was complete, the bed groaning again in protest, a pleased smile on her face. It was really amazing the difference the different eye colour made or maybe that was just on Kescandria whose eyes, as a result of malnourishment during her imprisonment, seemed to take up her entire face.

"I'll be Merlin's sister," she announced, "come to keep my darling big brother company in Camelot."

"B-but Arthur, Gwen and Morgana have been to Ealdor. They know that I don't have a sister."

"Our mother sent me away to stay with our uncle nearer to the capital of Cenred's kingdom for my protection when our home was being threatened by the rogue Kanan and his men."

Merlin cocked his head to one side and thought for a moment. At last he nodded. "That would work. But how did you know all that? About my village being attacked?"

"Eternal knowledge, warlock. A rare gift, even amongst the dragon children. The dragons have it – or should I say had it – as you probably know. I have some foresight as well," she boasted. Merlin just nodded.

"So you're my sister then?" Kescandria nodded.

"If that's alright with Gaius." The old man just shrugged.

"I don't really have much choice in the matter. What will you do while you're here? You need to earn your keep somehow," he told her as her mouth began to open in protest, "you could do some chores for me… or maybe you could help Gwen."

"And you need to change," Merlin added. "And get a haircut. You're filthy."

"Fine," the dragon child sighed. "We can talk work later."

* * *

She looked better after a bath, Merlin noted, though seeing her not caked in mud, dust and grime only emphasised how thin she really was. It was a wonder she could even stand she looked that frail. Her dress was a bit cleaner too, though still ridiculously dirty and stinking, like she'd been rolling around in the stables. The style, he noticed however, was one that he'd never seen before. It was white and looked like it had been made out of some fine material he couldn't name and was sleeveless, held together at the shoulders by two gold clasps. The skirt was slit down both sides revealing too pale legs but allowed easy movement. There was a thin belt loosely tied double around her waist and from it hung a sheathed silver knife. Her hair was washed too and was a wavy dark gold almost brown. He was sure that it was been brilliant blonde once but years in darkness had caused it to dull and darken. She had cut it sloppily after her bath, either with her knife or one of Gaius sharper tools, and now it only reached just above her elbow where before it tumbled almost to her knees.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much," Gaius replied, "now as to work, I want you to go with Merlin to see Gwen. Gwen is–"

"I know who Guinevere is," Kescandria interrupted, "and yes, I will go to see her."

"She could probably get you something to wear too," Merlin told her, "you can't go around wearing that."

Kescandria nodded, "Uther would recognise the style; its traditional for the dragon children to dress like this. Let us go and see the queen of hearts, _brother."_

* * *

Gwen, who had been sitting alone in her house working on a new dress before she had to leave for work, answered the door on the first knock wondering who on earth would be wanting to see her this early in the morning. For some reason the sight of Merlin didn't surprise her.

"Merlin," she greeted with a smile.

"Hi, Gwen," Merlin smiled back before gesturing to the door, "can I come in."

The maidservant nodded, "of course."

After Merlin stepped inside however, much to Gwen's surprise, he was followed by a small, cloaked figure. She turned to Merlin, her eyes questioning. The dark-haired manservant simply smiled.

"Gwen, I want you to meet Kescandria, my, uh, sister."

On cue, unnaturally pale, thin fingers emerged from the blue cloak and pushed back the hood, revealing dark eyes, a gaunt face and long blonde hair.

"I didn't know you had a sister," Gwen said, still staring shocked at the girl. She looked like she hadn't eaten in years or even seen the sun. Had she suffered from some deadly illness? It certainly looked like it.

"My mother's always wanted to keep her close; she was very weak when she was born and the fact that she's even made to this age was described as a miracle by the local physician."

"We never saw her when we went to Ealdor…"

"Mother sent me away," the frail girl spoke for the first time, her voice was soft and quiet but, though almost undetectable, it had a disguised steel edge to it, "Kanan was dangerous and if I got hurt it was unlikely I'd survive… I've never been good at fighting illnesses or wounds."

Gwen nodded in understanding and Merlin continued for his sister.

"But there have been some bad winters in Ealdor the past few years and if she gets sick again…"

"It's alright," Gwen interrupted, "I understand. You can look after her here in Camelot."

Both Merlin and Kescandria nodded and Gwen smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could maybe make my sister some clothes. This was all she brought with her."

Gwen nodded, "absolutely. I'll just need to take some measurements, give me a moment."

She left and returned with measuring tape. She gestured for Kescandria to step forward.

"You'll need to take the cloak off," she told her. When Kescandria unclasped and removed the cloak, handing it to Merlin, Gwen's eyes widened in shock and horror. The girl was more than unhealthily thin, she was skeletal. Gwen could understand what she meant about fighting illnesses, a common cold looked enough to kill her. She looked like one of the poor beggar children in the lower town, the way the skin was stretched across her bones. Her flimsy dress also did nothing to protect her, though it was fairly warm outside, and was far too revealing to be considered decent. Even a simple nightdress or slip covered more.

Once her measurements were taken and the cloak was back on, Gwen announced that the dress might take a couple of days and offered Kescandria one of her older dresses that she had worn as a teenager and no longer fitted her. The girl shot her a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Guinevere."

"Oh, it's no problem, Kescandria, my pleasure in fact, I've been meaning to get rid of those dresses for a while now. And call me Gwen, everyone does."

_Except Arthur, _she thought but he was really the only exception. Kescandria smiled in smug kind of way, one corner of her mouth reaching further than the other, as if she knew something Gwen didn't.

"Only if you call me Kes," she told her before picking up one of the old dresses – the red one with the long-sleeved white under dress – and going behind the curtain to change.

"Your sister?" she commented to Merlin, "strange girl."

Beside her Merlin chuckled.

"You have no idea."

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**Echo: Well, how was it? Please review!**

**Goldfish: Yes, do! Review!**


	3. Lady and Maid

**Echo: Hey, finally I'm back with a new chapter!**

**Goldfish: Yes. Finally.**

**Echo: And I was just reading the last two chapter and I have to say, the number of typos I noticed was atrocious.**

**Goldfish: You don't say? You really need to proof-read before you post.**

**Echo: I know. Anyhoos -**

**Goldfish: EchoGirl319 does not own Merlin, it belongs to the BBC.**

**Echo: Exactly.**

* * *

**The Dragon Child**

**Chapter 3**

**~ Lady and Maid ~**

Merlin and Gwen stood for a few moments in awkward silence as Kescnandria changed behind the screen.

"You never told me you had a sister, Merlin," Gwen said in an attempt to make conversation. Usually she had no problem talking to the young manservant but having his sister here suddenly made everything awkward. Beside her Merlin gave a little jump, surprised as Gwen's voice halted his train of thought.

"Uh, no. But I do! Have a sister, that is."

Gwen chuckled at Merlin's stammered response and Merlin gave a shaky a laugh, running a hand through his short, dark hair. His eyes darted around the room as he internally begged Kescandria to hurry up before Gwen asked him a question that he couldn't answer and their whole cover would be blown.

_Give a girl some time, Merlin. _Kescandria's teasing voice sounded inside his head. For a moment he swore he heard a giggle coming from behind the screen. Merlin resisted the urge to groan. She was doing this on purpose!

"She doesn't look much like you," Gwen commented casually. Merlin froze, only after a second did a queue of hopeless explanations form in his mind, each one more ridiculous and unbelievable than the last.

"I-"

"I mean," Gwen interrupted hurriedly, worried that she might have offended him, "she's obviously your sister, she's got your eyes and, well, you're the only person I've ever seen with eyes like that." She paused again. "Not that that's a bad thing! You've got lovely eyes!"

"Um, thanks?" Merlin offered as the maid babbled. He smiled and shook his head as Gwen relaxed, a faint blush colouring her cheeks though it was almost unnoticeable behind her dark complexion.

At that precise moment Kescandria emerged from behind the screen. Her presence gave the two friends something to focus their attention on, effectively ridding the situation of its awkwardness. Though neither said it, both Merlin and Gwen were relieved. Kescandria smiled angelically at them at she walked forward being careful not to trip on the hem of Gwen's old dress, her own traditional dragon child garb bundled in her arms.

"Thanks, Gwen," she said as she put her dress down on the table and grabbed her blue cloak, throwing it over her shoulders and fastening it the front.

"Oh, Gwen," Merlin remembered, "I was wondering if maybe you could, uh, take Kes to work with you?"

"What?" Gwen asked frowning. "Can't Gaius look after her?"

"I'm not here to be looked after," Kescandria explained somewhat snappishly, "Gaius said I need to work if I'm going to stay here and we were wondering if maybe I could help you with your chores while Gaius goes to find me a paid job."

"Oh, right," Gwen nodded in understanding. "Of course, I'm sure Morgana won't mind having another helping hand around."

Kescandria's dark blue eyes sparkled micheviously, in a way which left Merlin deeply unconcerned. It was as if she was planning something distinctly unpleasant and he knew that if Kescandria did something to Morgana she would be able to trace it back to him and he was already in enough trouble as it was. He shot her a warning glance. As expected she ignored him.

"You mean the Lady Morgana?" Kescandria asked with false excitement. "The first lady of Camelot? King Uther's ward? I'd love to meet her! Is she really as pretty as they say she is?"

Of course she already knew what the witch looked like and that she was more than just Uther's ward but his illegimate daughter but she had a pretense to keep up. She grinned widely at Gwen who, though she wouldn't admit it, was surprised at the sight of the young girl's teeth. Considering the rest of her body she had been expecting them to be yellow and rotting but instead they were white, all present and perfectly straight. For someone who looked like they'd barely survived a famine teeth like that just weren't natural.

"Well," Merlin broke the silence, "I should probably be getting back to the castle. You know how Arthur is when he doesn't get his breakfast."

Gwen smiled, remembering how much of a grump Arthur had been in the mornings before he'd eaten from the week he'd stayed at her house during the joust last year. She was broken out of her trance by the sound of Kescandria's irritable voice.

"No, I don't. I've never met him."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Okay, I've got to go now."

He gave a small wave to Gwen and shot Kescandria a look that said _behave _before grinning widely and exiting the small house, closing the door behind him. After a moment Gwen turned to Merlin's 'younger sister'.

"The dress is a bit big," she commented, "I'm sorry I don't have anything smaller."

It really was too big; the thin belt Kescandria had been wearing earlier was looped tightly several times around the waist emphasising her how thin she was and the skirt pulled around her feet so that it dragged a few inches behind her. The neckline was too wide and one of the sleeves was threatening to slip off her narrow shoulder. Still, she looked more presentable than she had before, which was certainly saying something. For the first time Gwen noticed a queer necklace the girl wore: it was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, made of strange beads and were those animal teeth?

"It's all right," Kescandria replied, tugging the dress back up to cover her shoulder and paying no mind to the maid's blatant staring. "It's just for today after all, right."

Gwen tore her eyes away from the strange necklace, focusing instead on the girl's gaunt face and insanely large eyes.

"Just for today," she promised, "I'll have your new clothes ready for tomorrow. So, ready to go?"

"Yup!" the blonde exclaimed as Gwen opened the door, rushing out into the street and basking in the bright sunlight that hit the lower town each morning. Gwen followed her out, closing the door behind her and fastening her red cloak, and side by side the two females headed for the palace.

* * *

The Lady Morgana was sitting in front of her vanity, brushing her long, wavy black hair excitedly anticipating her next meeting with her sister as she waited for her maidservant to arrive. For that reason she was in for a bit of a shock when, in her mirror, instead of Gwen entering her chambers she saw a strange young blonde girl carrying a pile of linen. She paused in her brushing, waiting for the girl to realise her mistake and leave but she didn't. Instead she tossed the linen down on the bed and sat down, bouncing up and down as if testing the springs.

In an instant Morgana was on her feet facing the girl.

"Who are you?" she demanded aggressively, "why are you here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" the girl snapped, not looking at her and ignoring her first question as she continued to bounce up and down on the bed. "I'm testing your mattress."

"My mattress is perfectly fine," Morgana insisted, "now I'd appreciate it if you would leave."

The girl shook her head, still not looking at her. "King's orders," she informed, scrabbling so that she was standing up before beginnig to literally jump up and down on the bed, "the Lady Morgana's mattress needs tested."

Morgana watched the girl, shocked. Then the irritation set in. Only an idiot like Uther would order something as outrageously ridiculous as this. Since her return to Camelot she had been nothing but sickly sweet to Uther, sidling up to him as much as she could but this was taking it too far. There was no way she was having servants jumping up and down on her bed.

"I'm eating breakfast with the king and Prince Arthur," she told the girl who still wasn't looking at her. All she could see was golden hair lifting and falling in time with the girl's bounces.

"Go ahead," came the girl's voice, "I'll be done by the time you're back. You should thank your _guardian _for this, by the way. Mattress testing is very important, I'm surprised you haven't had it done before."

Resisting the urge to use her magic to throw the girl against the wall (anything to get her off her bed) Morgana stormed out of her chambers, the velvet skirt of her purple dress billowing behind her.

Morgana didn't smile or offer her idiotic father and half-brother a "good morning" or even a smile when she joined them at the table for breakfast. She didn't even acknowledge the servant who pulled out the chair for her as she sat down.

"Morgana?" Uther questioned, concerned, reaching out to put a hand on her arm. She glared at him and he pulled back and asked more sternly, "Morgana, what's wrong?"

"What do mean?" Morgana asked. "You should know. You're the one that's ordered my mattress to be tested."

"What?" came Arthurs's amused voice opposite her. "_Mattress testing?"_

He burst into laughter and she shot him a cold glare.

"Morgana, what are talking about?" Uther demanded as he took a drink from his goblet. Morgana exploded.

"That idiotic little blonde servant upstairs jumping on my bed!"

Uther blinked, Arthur raised an eyebrow and there was a loud thunk as a metal jug hit the floor eyes. All eyes at the table turned in the direction of the sound.

_"Merlin!" _Arthur exclaimed and Morgana fought a sneer. Of course Merlin would be the one to drop the jug.

"Eh, sorry, I'll just get this, um, cleared up..." Grabbing a nearby cloth the young manservant quickly mopped up the spilled wine and collected the fallen jug before practically racing out of the room. All occupants watched him leave and Arthur snorted.

"Typical Merlin."

* * *

Half an hour later Morgana was back in her chambers, fuming. The girl had lied! Uther had not ordered her mattress be tested but rather the insolent maid had just been messing around. And she'd left the bedsheets rumpled. Was that girl a maid or wasn't she? Just as Morgana was prepared to scream in fustration and probably end up imploding a window, none other than Gwen entered the room.

"Morning, milady," she greeted cheerfully.

"Oh, hello, Gwen," Morgana attempted to sound friendly and plastered a smile on her face as Gwen went to straightened the bedsheets.

"I hope you don't mind, milady, but I'm having a helper today."

Morgana turned to looked at her, genuinely surprised. "A helper, really?"

"Yes," Gwen told her as she moved to the other side of the bed. "Her name's Kescandria."

"Kescandria," Morgana let the name roll off her tongue. It was unusual, that was for certain, she'd never come across it before. It sounded almost like it was from a different language. For some reason it intrigued her, something names didn't normally do. Perhaps Morgause would know.

"Yes," Gwen said, patting the bedsheets, "she's Merlin's little sister."

Morgana froze.

"Merlin's sister," she choked out after a moment.

"Yes. I didn't know Merlin had a sister before now. I don't suppose he told you, did he?"

"No," Morgana replied, still shocked by the sudden turn of events.

"Strange girl, though," Gwen continued, oblivious to Morgana's reaction, "sickly. I was shocked when I saw her, you'd think just a common cold would finish her off. The winter's hard in Ealdor this year so she's come to Camelot so Merlin can look after her."

"Oh."

So Merlin had a runt for a sister. One he'd probably do anything to protect. Maybe she could have her revenge on him after all, through his sister, this Kescandria. Slowly she felt a smirk pull at her features. Oh, yes, Merlin would pay for poisoning her and his sister would be very useful in extracting her revenge.

Morgause would surely be pleased at the recent turn of events.

* * *

**Echo: Well, how was it?**

**Goldfish: Hmph.**

**Echo: I wasn't asking you. Now, suspense moment: what will Kes do next? How will Merlin and Gaius react to whatever chaos she may be causing around the castle? Has Morgana bitten off more than she can chew. DUN DUN DUUUN!**

**Goldfish: Very nice.**

**Echo: Thank you. Anyways, we'll be back on track with the actual episodes soon so, yeah, until then, review. Seriously. Please review.**

**Goldfish: Do it!**


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